March brought some much milder temperatures to NY this year, and I've been taking full advantage of it. Since I wish to continue taking advantage of it, I will actually keep this introduction brief!
Usually the crocuses are the first real signs of spring for us, but this year spring came almost 3 weeks ahead of them. They still get the first picture of the post, even though this is one of the last pictures I took, because I haven't yet figured out how to set a different picture as the 'cover' photo in PeakD, although I hear that feature was added. People like pictures of bright, beautiful flowers.
Every new year brings some more changes, and this year it's finally time to expand a little farther into the woods. This means clearing a lot of brush, and picking up literally tons of sticks and branches. I used to sort beautiful pieces like this for future woodworking projects, but this year everything is going to either the rocket stove, a build, or the chipper.
Some of the 'build' pieces are being used to level up the brassica bed. I'm removing the plastic this year and replacing it with wood chip mulch. This project will get its own post (most of them will) but this picture sums it up pretty well.
The old wood chipper got some attention this year, and has been plugging around pretty reliably. Don't tell it, but I think I'm buying a newer one this year. The old one has a drive mechanism, but it's pretty useless on these hills, and I need something I can move around easily. This was one of several rounds through the chipper.
We're not only expanding into the forest, we're also expanding our current growing areas. I've been marking out cart paths for access with the ATVs. Everything outside the paths will eventually be planted; even the lawn areas will be part of a complete design.
Fruit trees and bushes are what we'll be adding the most of this year. I'm not usually into buying the trees from Home Depot, but I was able to get some right off the truck this year that looked pretty happy, so I'm giving them a shot. We picked up a Red Delicious apple, a Kiefer pear, and a crabapple tree (I forget the variety). I'll start shopping the local nurseries for more trees this week.
In between all the digging and hauling, I also dabbled in some abstract egg art.
The afternoons have been beautiful, but nights and mornings are still pretty chilly. Most mornings I would awake to see this on the ponds, and by lunch time I'm shedding clothes and looking for shade.
Since we're expanding the gardens so much, my lovely Hedge Witch thought it might be a good idea to also add some space to sit and cool off. I agreed, and we worked out this cozy little nook that we added in with some new raised beds for garlic and onions. The plastic covered beds are the ones we grow our peppers in. These beds are the only thing we're likely to keep the plastic on this year, the peppers really seem to love it.
If you've read my previous posts, you've probably heard me complain about the many thorns we have to clear around here. This lovely little guy spent almost two weeks lodged in my thumb. My skin has thickened over the years, so I almost never bleed from these pokes anymore, but they still hurt.
Cleaning out the willow tangles around the raised beds, I noticed this lovely natural mess. Hedge Witch really wanted to cut down all the willow to make them bushier, but I think I've convinced her to let me run with this. The back part of this stand looks like this all the way to the top.
The chickens have pretty mad at me, because I've been keeping them locked up. When I let them roam, they have a tendency to dig up all the new plantings. I'm not sure if the placement of this white marble they found is a form of protest, I just found it adorable.
They're probably plotting against me most of the time, but thankfully they're easily distracted and don't seem to remember things for very long. Once all the new stuff gets established, I'll give them a few days to clear out bugs and they'll love me all over again.
While they must wait patiently for their release, my posts, too, will be waiting patiently for release as well. I'm trying to cut down on my long absences by creating many posts while I have time, and scheduling them for later release. Hopefully it works, I guess we'll all find out. This is the first one into the queue, and so far it feels pretty good. That might just be the spring fever, though!
I hope things are going well for all of you out there, and I hope to see you back soon!